Body in Saitama sinkhole identified as that of truck driver
The body was found on May 2 after the truck fell into the sinkhole created at the center of an intersection in the city of Yashio on Jan. 28.
The road collapse is believed to have been caused by the rupture of a sewage pipe beneath the road.
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Japan Times
4 hours ago
- Japan Times
Over 90 MSDF members punished over scandal involving shipbuilders
The Defense Ministry says it has punished 93 members of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, including its chief of staff, Adm. Akira Saito, for improperly receiving goods from four domestic shipbuilding companies. Saito will lose 10% of his salary for a month to take responsibility for the scandal, while the remaining 92 personnel were reprimanded or given warnings. "We deeply apologize for causing a scandal that has greatly undermined expectations and trust," Saito said at a news conference on Wednesday. "We will create an atmosphere in which members can say wrong things are wrong." Vice Defense Minister Kazuo Masuda was also strongly reprimanded for not properly overseeing the MSDF chief of staff. The Maritime Self-Defense Force's chief of staff, Adm. Akira Saito, speaks at a news conference at the Defense Ministry on Wednesday in Tokyo. | JIJI The Defense Ministry said that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan Marine United and Sasebo Heavy Industries had fraudulently provided items — mainly related to submarine operations, such as monitors and chairs — to the MSDF upon request. To fund the provision, the MSDF created fake submarine repair orders for the shipbuilders. When asked by MSDF members for personal equipment, the three shipbuilders refused, the ministry said. Kawasaki Heavy Industries provided 13 MSDF members with game consoles, golf equipment, wristwatches and other personnel items, worth ¥1.4 million ($9,400) in total, funded by slush funds created through fictitious submarine repair transactions with the MSDF, according to the ministry. The 13 members include three supervisors who determine whether submarine repairs are needed. The three supervisors have grave responsibility for the scandal as they have the authority to oversee suppliers, the ministry said. The ministry plans to take separate punitive action against the 13 personnel. One of the 13 has told ministry investigators that a senior member told him to request personal items with shipbuilders, according to the ministry. The bogus transactions with Kawasaki Heavy began around 1985. Some ¥1.7 billion's worth of such transactions was found over the six years through fiscal 2023. Since the fraud was instigated by the MSDF, the ministry will not exclude the four companies from doing business with it.
Japan Times
4 hours ago
- Japan Times
Japan considers tighter oversight to avoid bond market ‘spoofing'
The financial industry is looking to tighten oversight of trading in government bond futures, after Nomura Holdings joined a list of brokerages fined for manipulating the instruments. The Japan Securities Dealers Association and Japan Exchange Group are discussing ways to prevent a banned trade known as spoofing, their officials said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. They are considering revising a guideline for reviewing trading in Japanese government bond futures and other derivatives, as well as offering more thorough training for financial firms, the officials added. Japan is stepping up efforts to stamp out impropriety in its financial markets after concluding last year that Nomura broke the law in 2021. Spoofing involves placing fake orders to give market participants a false impression about supply and demand to make profitable trades. The practice isn't unique to Japan, and regulators in other markets have also been trying to curb it. JSDA is an industry group that self-regulates brokerages in coordination with the Financial Services Agency. Japanese government bond futures are listed on a derivatives exchange in Osaka, and JPX has a regulatory arm called Japan Exchange Regulation that seeks to ensure securities transactions are fair. Traders could also benefit from clearer guidance. The line between spoofing and regular transactions can be contentious — a former Nomura trader who is accused of having committed the act four years ago has insisted he is innocent. Some Japanese government bond traders have noted the rules were opaque enough that almost anyone could be tripped up and lose their job. The guideline was created in 2020 by JPX for companies to review their own derivatives trades, after the FSA penalized Citigroup Inc. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in the preceding two years for spoofing JGB futures, the officials said. Any revision would be the first since it was formed, they added. JPX shares the guideline only with member firms, keeping it from the general public. JSDA and JPX are examining whether the guideline needs revising for more effective screening of transactions, the officials said. They are also considering educating brokerages about best practices, rather than prescribing quantifiable benchmarks, such as a limit on a trader's market share, the officials added. The discussion are at an early stage and there is no specific deadline, according to the officials. Once ideas are finalized, they will probably discuss them with brokerages, they said. JSDA is considering with other relevant parties how to deal with the matter, a spokesman said in a written response. A representative for JPX declined to comment. The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, the FSA's investigative arm, asked JSDA to come up with preventive measures after Nomura paid a fine of ¥21.8 million ($147,000) in October, commission officials said, asking not to be identified due to their policy. JSDA undertook a survey in February and March as a preparatory step, the officials said. It polled roughly 80 member firms that trade Japanese government bond futures, including brokerages and commercial banks. The queries focused on how the companies' management and compliance officers as well as independent auditors oversee such transactions, JSDA officials said. JPX is also looking into the need to toughen oversight on other financial products that are susceptible to spoofing, such as stocks, its officials said.
Japan Times
4 hours ago
- Japan Times
Japanese AI developer Alt goes bust after accounting fraud
Japanese artificial intelligence developer Alt, which revealed accounting irregularities recently, has filed for bankruptcy protection with the Tokyo District Court under the civil rehabilitation law. The court accepted the application, according to the Tokyo-based company's announcement Wednesday. Alt left debts totaling about ¥2.4 billion ($16.1 million) and aims for its rehabilitation by finding a sponsor entity that will take over its operations. Alt's line of business includes a service to create meeting summaries using AI. The company went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Growth section for startups in October 2024, 10 years after its establishment in 2014. However, suspicions of accounting fraud surfaced at the company in April this year. On Monday, Alt said in an investigation report that the company padded its sales in the four years through December 2024 by a total of ¥11.9 billion. The firm's founder, Kazutaka Yonekura, resigned as its president the same day. A third-party panel's investigation has found that Alt also falsified documents it submitted to the TSE for the exchange's examination of its stock listing application. On Wednesday, the TSE decided to delist Alt on Aug. 31. At a press conference Wednesday, Hiromi Yamaji, group CEO of Japan Exchange Group, the operator of the TSE, harshly criticized the series of wrongdoing by Alt. The irregularities are "very regrettable as they shaken the credibility of the initial public offering and audit systems," Yamaji said.
